I know this isn’t a lapidary list, per se, but I wanted to see if
anybody knows anything about equipment to automatically cut numbers of
cabs of consistent size, with a minimum of attention required.
I’m just putting some thought into an idea. I have cut a fair number
of stones by hand in the past. I would need to cut 20 or more stones
of, for example, 38 mm round. Its not something I would want to send
out to an offshore cutter, due to turn-around and shipping costs of
the material. I’d rather invest in automated equipment than employees,
at this point.
Preforming and tumbling to finish may be an option. Anyone have
experience with production cutting?
There is a product called the Gy Roc Cabber, while it is not
Automatic, it is supposed to make it very easy, the brochure, which I
just got says, The Gy-Roc Cabber is designed to cut either and oval or
round convex surface in various radii or combinations of radii. The
size or peripheral contour is left to the ingenuity of the operator,
The Gy Roc Cobber can be used on any grinder, either wheel or disc,
diamond or silicon carbide, to which a small platform can be added to
support the cabber. This item is a whopping $39.00 if I remember
right, it is supposed to work real well from what I have heard, it
should cut down production time quite a bit. Of course it is not
Automatic, but could be a real time saver either way
They are located in Pico Rivera, Ca, address P.O. Box 1534, San Juan
Capistrano, CA 92675, their phone is 949-496-7742, or 8321 Passons
Blvd, Pico Rivera, CA 90660, 562-949-8380, the gentleman there is very
helpful and informative
I have owned several factories in different countries,including once
a complete Edus German automatic cabachon and faceting set up,took 15
men to keep up with it.In Annopolis,Md even with the higher labor,we
could compete with factories of several hundred men.On this page of my
website,I have pictures of that operation,and other worldwide
factories.
http://www.liccini.com/Photo/Photo.htm The volume of stones you want
to do,and the large sizes you should consider a table top unit out of
Germany,or even a hand crank unit.That would give you your
uniformity,and might even be faster in the loading and operating.The 3
companies I know about that make these units are Edus,Winter and
Lux.All based in Idar Oberstein,Germany.You might consider to attend
the annual show there in September.They have all the equipment on
display.You can find also machines made in Taiwan,Isreal,and U.S.The
machine has been sold since,but I also had an american made unit,the
original inventor was called Roc.Table top,two 8" Diamond wheels,at
the base of each wheel was a motorized dop set.This machine was great
for large stones,small runs and a one or two man operation. You might
even give some thought to ultrasonic drills,with a core drill. Hope
this helps a bit,you can contact me off list for more detail. Mark
Liccini